Home away from home

One of the toughest parts about moving to a new city is finding a good house. And the task is believed to get a tad more difficult if you are a woman. In a survey conducted on Women’s Day, Nestaway found that while parents have become more open to their daughters moving to a city, finding safe housing is a concern for women and their parents. This observation prompted the home-rentals start-up to rollout a campaign called ‘Ghar For Her’. As the name suggests, the campaign tells women that there's a house for them, no matter where they go.

“We want the women who see this video to feel encouraged to take the leap, move out and chase their big, audacious dreams,” says Ramya Ramachandra, head of marketing, Nestaway Technologies. But while Nestaway wanted to highlight the safety and convenience it offers young women, it didn’t want to tap into their anxieties.

Instead, it opted for a pacy, quirky and catchy approach. Pacy because it dives right into the core message of housing for women, quirky because of the execution and catchy because of the track composed by Gaurav Chatarjee. Nilay Moonje, group creative director, Ogilvy Bangalore observed that several buildings in the city being given female names. "The idea that a place seems more welcoming when you see your name on it, rang true with all of us,” he recalls. 

The production team then went around Bengaluru and Mumbai, scouting for houses that have been given female names – Neha, Sneha, Mina and Nina, to cite a few. These visuals of building names were brought together in the one-minute long commercial, which ends with the message that Nestaway has over 19,500 homes just for women, and urges them to make their move. What is commendable is that the ad has steered clear of any clichés which brands usually use, when advertising to women. The sound of a door bell in the last frame just makes it more relatable and shows the attention to detail of the makers. Now whether you wish to move to a new city or not, the simple idea and execution of this ad make it an extremely fun watch. And of course, effective.